Luxembourg City, The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Friday, 18th May 2018
Just remembered that my thread ceremony was held on this day at Mumbai, many years ago. Anyway, to return to the present, we said good-bye to Hotel Le Lys D'or - a fantastic place to stay at - at Brussels, the headquarters of the European Union. Reached platform no. 10, Brussels Midi railway station by 09:55, buying two packs of Guliyan chocolates at one of the many shops at the station, on a level lower than that of the platforms. I had picked up a double pack and absentmindedly asked Urmila to stuff it into my backpack. She too did so, without thinking. We went to the lady at the counter and told her, "Guliyan, promotion Duo pack." The lady naturally picked up a double pack from the display and started packing it. I hurriedly told her that I had already picked up one and put it in my backpack! She looked shocked and asked me to remove it. I then realised that I should have carried the pack to the counter, paid for it and then put it into my bag. Wonder what had come over me! The lady reprimanded us, saying that had we left the shop without paying, the police would have arrived there in a jiffy! We both apologised and left. A really strange incident, something that makes me wonder about it even today.
Spent time at the platform watching the arrival and departure of trains - a very pleasurable activity in Europe, thanks to the cleanliness of platforms, the sparse crowds and glittering trains - especially the high speed Thalys, connecting Belgium with France and The Netherlands. Our train arrived and left on time. It picked up speed after leaving Brussels and we were fascinated by first the Belgian and then the Luxembourg countryside. Mark Smith, on his railways website (www.seat61.com) has rightly said that the journey is very pleasant. Passed a couple of interesting villages too.
On the other side of the aisle, diagonally across, sat a lady who closely resembled a colleague of mine back in Nashik. I clicked a photograph of hers without her knowledge (sorry!) and sent it to my colleagues, including the lady in question, with the caption, 'European _____ ma'am'; on WA. Everyone was highly amused!
Reached Luxembourg City station on the dot at 13:50. The station was small but sweet with the typical old world charm that we have now come to associate with Europe. It had a lovely stained glass window above the indicators in the concourse; and the building had a unique façade for a railway station - complete with a clock tower and an arched shape, more suited to a church than a station. Located our hotel without difficulty. It is on Place du Gare (plenty of French influence in Brussels and Luxembourg), a high profile shopping street; and is a mere 5-minute walk from the station. Occupied room no. 607 on the 6th floor, road-facing.
Very nice ! Stepped out for lunch and located a restaurant named 'Ramen Noodles' in a street perpendicular to Place du Gare, not far from the hotel. Ordered two chicken dishes - one with egg and noodles and the other in which chicken was stuffed into baked wantons. Both were quite good. Spotted a supermarket owned by a Thai national. Entered it just for the heck of it and found many items we had last seen in Myanmar (almost 11 years ago)! Tried two tins of coconut water, each of which had tiny cut pieces of coconut floating in the water. The pieces reminded me of the 'prasaad' (offering) distributed at Hanuman temples back in India. Strolled along the Place du Gare in bright sunshine with a cool breeze blowing, in the direction of the famous viaduct, a prominent feature of Luxembourg City.
The viaduct was certainly impressive, as was the abundant greenery that covered the magnificent constructions nestling within. To our right lay another parallel viaduct along which ran the railway line. A huge, impressive, formidable cream coloured building with the trademark grey roof stood at the other end of the first viaduct. It turned out to be the country's court of justice. Spent some time admiring the rich structures in the vicinity and returned to the hotel, after purchasing stuff at 'Express' and 'Hema' supermarkets, one on either side of the hotel. It is 19:39 as I write this.
Richness exudes from every pore of this city! Plan to visit Vianden tomorrow.
